2016 Advertising Award Best Message

Download our latest Specifier Update 17

Six international cities with outstanding green infrastructure

Green infrastructure and urban sustainability are becoming increasingly high priorities for cities all around the world, however some are already streets ahead. Here are six of the top cities who are leading the pack.

Singapore

Now known as one of Asia’s greenest cities, Singapore’s water supplies were once so scarce that they had to import water from Malaysia. However, Singapore has since turned things around, making two-thirds of the city’s hard surfaces rainwater catchments, which deposit water to 18 reservoirs.

Other sustainability systems include advanced water purification and recycling processes, a driverless metro and environmentally-friendly meeting venues.

Stockholm

Stockholm in Sweden became the first European Green Capital in 2010, thanks to an administrative system that makes sustainability a priority. In Stockholm, eco-taxis get preferred placement at the front of taxi ranks, while more than 700 kilometers of bike lanes and a community bicycle rental program encourage people to cycle rather than drive.

Stockholm even has an official ‘eco-district’, located in Hammarby Sjöstad. Its goal is to halve the carbon footprint of a typical city, by providing residents with gas and electricity from renewable sources, as well as houses made from raw materials.

Virginia Beach, VA

Virginia Beach is ranked second on the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of mid-sized cities with the most buildings that also received the ENERGY STAR rating for energy efficiency.

The city has a strong focus on school-related sustainability, with the Virginia Beach public school system being the only K-12 division to receive a Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence, which recognises continual efforts made toward conservation.

Portland, OR

When Portland residents voted in the 2018 midterm elections, they favoured a ballot initiative that imposed a one percent tax for large corporations. The revenue generated by this initiative will go toward supporting change minimisation strategies in the city.

Earlier in 2018, Portland also made single-family home owners responsible for disclosing their home’s energy efficiency rating (measured by a professional assessment) before putting their home on the market. This allows potential buyers to make more informed purchasing decisions, while also encouraging sellers to make their homes more sustainable.

Boston, MA

Boston’s goal is to be carbon-neutral by 2050, and the city is also working towards a zero-waste goal. The climate change plan involves planting trees to help absorb floodwaters that could result from worsening storms, plus looking at ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by giving residents sustainable transportation options.

In Boston, there are nearly 200 bicycle rental stations. The city is also considering how to accommodate more electric vehicles by installing more convenient charging points.

Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver is the third most sustainable North American city, according to data published in 2017. Notable green initiatives include the Tap Map app, which helps people find places to refill their reusable water bottles. In 2015, Vancouver also banned organic materials from landfills, encouraging people to recycle their food scraps.

In terms of urban buildings, Vancouver has a particularly eco-friendly landscape and scores a higher-than-average rating for walkability. That means fewer vehicles, less pollution and a smaller carbon footprint.

World Forum on Urban Forests: Call for trees to shape city planning

The first World Forum on Urban Forests will be held in Mantua, Italy from 28 November to 1 December 2018. This inaugural event will bring together experts from around the world – including urban foresters, arborists, planners, scientists, landscape architects and many other stakeholders – to discuss how to make cities greener, healthier and happier.

As well as launching long-term collaborations around the development of sustainable cities, the Forum will provide a perfect setting to showcase the best nature-based solutions that can be applied to urban environments. It will also be catalyst for calls to action, which have already begun in the lead up to the Forum.

Stefano Boeri, the architect behind Vertical Forests, is urging planners around the world to consider urban forestry as a core element of all city planning projects. Boeri, whose Milan-based architecture studio is making an impact in the sustainable building space, is best known for the incredible Vertical Forest project in Milan – a pair of award-winning twin towers covered in scrubs and floral plants. This project has become a model for ecological residential building, and Boeri now wants to engage all architects, designers and planners to integrate green spaces into their projects.

Boeri’s vision is for more than just sustainable architecture. It includes incorporating trees, gardens and woods as essential components for all projects. As well as providing visual beauty, urban trees bring many benefits that improve quality of life. These benefits include reducing CO2 emissions, improving air quality and protecting biodiversity.

Recent research shows that forests and trees absorb one fifth of carbon emissions produced by cities worldwide. Similarly, leaves and roots help reduce pollutants which contribute to respiratory diseases that kill 7 million people a year globally, according to the World Health Organisation. With around two thirds of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2030, now is the time to start imagining new, greener urban landscapes. Particularly since urban areas currently account for more than 70% of global greenhouse emissions, despite covering only 2% of the world’s landmass.

“If a single tree can bring great benefits to the city and its inhabitants, an urban forest can be an extraordinary help to improve the quality of health and life in a city”, Boeri says.

Boeri will be one of many experts speaking at the World Forum for Urban Forestry. For more information on the Forum, visit the official website.

All city councils have an asset register detailing the value of assets like roads, parks, street furniture, and so on. Increasingly – and rightly so – trees are being included as quantifiable assets. In the past, it has been hard to quantify the value of trees, but today there are a number of methodologies for doing so. One such method, the Burnley Method – developed by Dr Greg Moore at the Victorian College of Agriculture and Horticulture Limited, Burnley Campus – is now being widely used and accepted. Available for download here http://croydonconservation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Burnley-method-Tree-value-pdf..pdf

The City of Melbourne are pioneers in valuing their trees and looking after them accordingly. In fact, residents can even email local trees to raise concerns about their health or express their appreciation and affection for the tree. By putting a value on trees, councils are able to protect them in new and quantifiable ways. For example, if a developer is building near a valuable tree, the council may require them to pay a bond – refunded provided the tree is unharmed post construction. If a developer destroys or removes a tree without permission, the council is able to sue that developer for the value of the tree per their register. All of this is effective and much-needed motivation to keep our valuable urban trees safe.

A council’s asset register forms a key part of their balance sheet. As the assets degrade over time, there is depreciation. Spend money on their assets, and there is growth. Naturally, councils want to spend money wisely in order to generate the greatest return on investment.

Installing the underground soil vault system beneath the parking lot.

Internationally, providing enough shade in carparks is a big issue. Not only does shade drastically improve the shopping experience, it also prolongs the life of the pavement. In the City of Belmont, Perth, Citygreen’s Stratacell system had a massive impact on the council’s bottom line. In an asphalt carpark next to an oval, five London Plane trees were planted in quite narrow islands, with adequate space and soil volume provided using the Stratacell system beneath the carpark pavement. The cost for the five trees (including the Stratacell system) was $50,000.

Four years later, as reported by Council, the trees have grown at an unprecedented rate – from a 75mm/3” trunk diameter at time of planting, to 250mm/10”. Today, according to the Burnley method, these trees are valued by Council at $17,500 each – an amazing return on investment in just four years, with so much growth (literally and financially) still to come.

As a comparison, the same council has the same species growing in a nearby carpark using the conventional method. The carpark was laid, a square cut in the pavement, some curbing placed around the edges, roadbase dug out, and a soil loaded into the hole. Planted 15 years ago (versus only four), these trees are valued at only $510 each. Of course, the initial outlay was much less ($250 per tree), but the return on investment does not compare.

Essentially, using the Citygreen soil vault system, this innovative Council was able to grow trees worth 34 times as much – in one quarter of the time!. As more emphasis is placed on generating ROI in relation to the value of trees, adopting innovative technology which enables trees to thrive in urban environments must be a priority. Of course, this is not just about improving councils’ bottom lines, but also improving the health and wellbeing of the communities they serve.

First of all, what do we mean by ‘Green’ and ‘Blue’? In this context, we’re talking about best practice for growing healthy trees (Green), and best practice for treating and managing stormwater (Blue).

For decades it has puzzled me that there is a major disconnect between the fields of urban forestry and stormwater engineering. Think about it – we plant trees into paved areas (car parks, malls, plazas, streetscapes) and partly paved areas (narrow road verges, centre medians, planter beds etc), and now we’re also paying attention to soil specifications, soil volumes for life needs of the trees, and so on. But one of the really key requirements for plant growth (H2O) is very efficiently sent away from our trees as soon as it falls on the large expanses of surrounding pavement! This doesn’t make sense whichever way you look at it.

A number of forward-thinking people around the globe have done some pioneering work in this – primarily to divert and capture water for tree health. However, how can the costs and benefits be quantified from all aspects? We need to carry the confidence of all stakeholders in the green building space, besides the developers and investors.

So, a few of us have been working with design engineers to try and clarify this issue, and bring some visibility to the discussion. Let’s break this up a little:

Passive Watering: this relates to the basic interception of rainwater, to enhance or replace manual or automatic watering of trees. Whilst there’s not a huge amount of science available publicly, there is definitely a growing interest. Based on regional climatic data, catchment areas per tree, soil type, and tree species, it is possible to optimise this and address each of these needs.

Stormwater Management: this relates to flows, and is a really crucial component of many development approval mechanisms globally. We are trying to restore pre-development flows for the health of waterways and improve safety of the broader populace in presence of flooding events induced by changes in land uses and climatic events. The volume of soil within our treepits can definitely be used as part of a stormwater management plan, and incorporated into numbers of different modelling programs. Note: we also have to balance the other factors (tree health, soil volumes etc) along with the stormwater flows, using a Water Balance tool.

Stormwater Treatment: this relates to pollutant removal from stormwater, and is absolutely integral to the suite of benefits that are brought to the table by combining treepits with stormwater treatment and management. The statutory targets for a given region can be achieved, and in many cases surpassed, when properly sized and specified treepits are used as part of a Green plus Blue initiative.

To wrap up: ideally, none of the above should be viewed in isolation, or else one or more of the design components will be compromised. For success, and all that this means (massive benefits to society, developers, the environment, and so on) a cross-functional approach is needed – one that combines the latest science for stormwater management and treatment with current best practice in treepit designs. When this is accomplished, there are significant savings to be achieved – and this makes sense to me. Because, after all, we are just re-connecting an environmental cycle that has been broken in our cities and urban spaces.

For more information on the latest in water harvesting technology, please visit this page.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has announced a $250 million Community Housing program, in partnership with the federal government. The scheme, designed to ramp the construction of cutting-edge, energy efficient community housing, will help build up to 1,000 new dwellings across Australia. In addition to new builds, finance to retrofit existing buildings will also be provided to improve energy efficiency and reduce bills for tenants.

Along with the announcement, the CEFC released a market report, which states, “Evidence indicates that low-income households tend to live in buildings with poorer energy efficiency, leading to higher energy costs. Poor building energy efficiency and high energy costs can have significant financial and health effects on households in community housing.

“There are many energy efficiency improvements with payback periods of five years or less that can be incorporated into the building fabric during construction. New-build community housing should be designed to ambitious energy efficiency standards and the existing stock should be refurbished to improve energy efficiency.

CEFC Community Housing Sector Lead, Victoria Adams, said, “Over the next year, our goal is to help finance the construction of 1,000 new dwellings, built to an average seven-star rating under the Nationwide Housing Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS). With this standard, energy use can be reduced by an estimated 25 per cent.”

Recycled Thermoplastics and Green Infrastructure

By Richard J. Magill, ASLA, LEED Green Associate

Introduction
As practicing “green building” professionals, we are all constantly searching for the best materials for our projects. The selection of building materials that are well-engineered, cost-effective and ecologically-sound is a process that defines our effectiveness and ultimately the success of our projects. We all know how challenging it is to stay ahead of the “technology curve”, and that our understanding of the latest innovations in materials is critical to the realization of results that meet or exceed industry standards and the needs of society in general.

Technological advances in the design and production of recycled plastic “green” building materials provide us with opportunities to “push the envelope” with respect to the three important criteria mentioned above. Up-to-date and accurate information is the key to being positioned to take advantage of advances in green building materials.

The following article first steps back slightly to examine the primary concepts behind the role of recycled plastics in green infrastructure projects, then looking at more-specific applications and the future of plastics, so that we all may be completely informed in our choices going forward.

What are Thermoplastics?

Also known as “engineering plastics”, thermoplastics comprise a group of materials that exhibit superior mechanical and thermal properties in a wide range of conditions over and above more commonly used commodity plastics and other materials. The term usually refers to thermoplastic (softer) materials as opposed to “thermoset” (harder) plastics. Engineered thermoplastics are typically used for parts rather than containers and packaging. A thermoplastic is made from polymer resins that can be reheated and reshaped repeatedly. These important characteristics allow the manufacturing process to be reversible, therefore making most thermoplastics recyclable.

Why Recycled Thermoplastics?

Recycled plastic provides a sustainable source of raw materials to the green manufacturing and building industry.

Reduction of environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions, associated with the production of new plastic-rich products.

Thermoplastic products can be recycled again and again, whereby effectively closing the “lifecycle loop” of the resource.

What is Green Infrastructure anyway?

Depending on which particular interest group is defining it, green infrastructure has been used to refer to everything from innovative green roofs, to more ecologically-sensitive stormwater management systems, to large integrated networks of natural areas.

What these different interpretations have in common is the essential recognition that our built environment and our ecological environment are irreversibly connected and closely interrelated.

When the term is used at a smaller scale, such as an urban park or streetscape, our working definition can be: an interconnected system of man-made landscapes, natural areas and open space that preserves and enhances the sustainability of the ecosystems, promotes clean air and water, and significantly benefits people and wildlife.

It should be pointed out that green infrastructure at the smaller; “implementation-level” involves the design, manufacture and installation of the best possible components of the physical systems, such as: tree grates, structural soil cells, permeable pavement, drainage systems, etc.

Some other informative definitions of green infrastructure are:

“Green infrastructure can be considered a conceptual framework for understanding the “valuable services nature provides the human environment.” At the national or regional level, interconnected networks of park systems and wildlife corridors preserve ecological function, manage water, provide wildlife habitat, and create a balance between built and natural environments. At the urban level, parks and urban forestry are central to reducing energy usage costs and creating clean, temperate air. Lastly, green roofs, walls, and other techniques within or on buildings (and building sites) bring a range of benefits, including reduced energy consumption and dramatically decreased stormwater runoff. Regardless of scale, green infrastructure provides real ecological, economic, and social benefits.”

American Society of Landscape Architects

“As communities develop and climate patterns shift, stormwater management needs can only be expected to grow. While single-purpose gray stormwater infrastructure is largely designed to move urban stormwater away from the built environment, green infrastructure reduces and treats stormwater at its source while delivering many other environmental, social, and economic benefits. These benefits not only promote urban livability, but also add to the bottom line.”

US Environmental Protection Agency

The Benefits of Green Infrastructure

Green infrastructure systems protect and restore naturally-functioning ecosystems and provide a framework for future development. These systems provide a wide range of ecological, social, and economic functions and benefits, such as: cleaner air and water, restoration and conservation of natural resource processes, enriched habitat and enhanced biodiversity, increased recreational and transportation opportunities, improved human health, and better connections to nature.

Well-designed and implemented man-made and natural green spaces have proven to increase property values and significantly decrease the costs of public infrastructure and public services.

The Benefits of Recycled Thermoplastic Materials

Durability- recycled plastic building products have proven to be extremely resistant to harsh environmental conditions. Plastic does not have to be painted, resists corrosion, and can be engineered to be incredibly strong.

Non-toxic- recycled plastic materials/parts will not leach undesirable chemicals into the environment.

Lower production costs- recycled and repurposed plastics are far more cost-effective than using expensive virgin polymer resins.

Some Specific Applications of Recycled Plastic in Green Infrastructure

Streetscapes

Green Roofs

Structural Soil Cells

Porous Pavement Systems

Stormwater Drainage Structures

Green Walls

Tree Pit Systems

LEED Credits for Recycled Plastic Materials

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) offers credits for the use of recycled products, including recycled plastics, in buildings, site development and landscaping in their highly regarded green building rating system.

Specifically, products like Citygreen® Stratacell™ Systems may qualify your project for generous contributions toward LEED certifications, with recycled content being a high contributor. Contact us for more information regarding Citygreen products and LEED credits.

See www.usgbc.org for more information and proposed changes to LEED rating systems.

The Future of Plastics and Green Infrastructure

The future “Greening of Plastic” doesn’t stop with the efficient recycling a petroleum-based resource. Advances in science are forthcoming that will further revolutionize the way we manufacture and use plastic. The development of “organic plastics” or Polypropylene Carbonates (PPCs) is moving forward, and in the near future, plastics will be made from the combination of carbon dioxide and propylene oxide. This new product will perhaps eliminate the need for petroleum-based plastics altogether, while utilizing a largely unwanted and ecologically-harmful element. Whether transparent, flexible, or rigid, PPC is poised to become the revolutionary product of the plastic world, and in a few short years, can be mass-produced by the chemical giant BASF.

Plastic, no matter the source, will continue to be a major factor in improving the durability and energy efficiency of future green infrastructure. The continued use of recycled thermoplastic materials will undoubtedly result in significant reductions in the overall carbon footprint of infrastructure development around the world.

This is the fourth in a series of six articles that will explore the various interactions and outcomes that result from human contact with our urban forests. This article will investigate the impacts of our city forests on human psycho-social benefits.

“People and plants are entwined by threads that reach back to our earliest experiences, as individuals and as a species”.

Psychological Benefits
A widely accepted and influential theory by S. Kaplan (1995) called Attention Restoration Theory proposes that natural environments and vegetation can assist in the functioning of human attention. Kaplan theorizes that daily life includes tasks that require long periods of directed attention, and that the execution of these tasks can be enhanced by views of nature. Urban forests provide a restorative escape from the activities that require directed attention by allowing people to rest their minds and effortlessly contemplate their environment. Studies have shown that:

People with views of nature from their work environment as less frustrated, more patient, have greater enthusiasm for their job, better health, and overall have a generally higher life satisfaction than those without contact with nature.

Those without views of nature in the workplace complain 23 percent more often of illness than those with views of nature.

Urban forests have proven to help children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). A study conducted in 2001 by the Human-Environment Research Laboratory (HERL) demonstrated that ADD symptoms are more manageable after activities in green settings, and that the more a child’s everyday environment includes contact with nature, the more manageable their ADD symptoms are in general.

Health Benefits
In addition to the psychological health benefits mentioned above, trees can also affect the physical health of a population. Kathleen Wolf at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington has explored the idea that trees and parks can help urban dwellers to make better, more active choices about their routine activities. Ms. Wolf asserts that with an aesthetically pleasing urban forest, people are encouraged to walk in their neighborhoods during their daily activities or for recreation. This not only encourages physical activity which can help reduce obesity and weight-related diseases, but it also increases possibilities for healthy social interaction.

Other heat-related health problems, such as heat-stroke, dehydration and skin cancer are mitigated by the urban forest’s ability to moderate the temperatures created by the urban heat island. Trees can also help decrease respiratory ailments caused by air-borne pollutants by lowering pollution levels in urban environments.
Urban life can be extremely demanding often resulting in stress-related health issues. It is widely accepted that urban open spaces and parks can provide welcome relief from stress, allowing us to calm and cope, and ultimately recharge our ability to carry on.

Crime Reduction
The Human-Environment Research Laboratory has conducted multiple studies determining that trees can actually help reduce crime. Frances Kuo and William Sullivan, the two primary researchers at HERL, suggest that trees reduce crime in two important ways.

First, frequent encounters with nature can help to sooth violent temperaments. As discussed above, trees help to mitigate mental fatigue which can cause outbursts of anger and potential violence in some people. HERL studies have shown that residents living in areas with trees use more constructive methods to deal with conflict.

Second, trees deter crime by increasing surveillance on city streets. People tend to use spaces with trees more than they use treeless spaces. Vegetation on or adjacent to streets encourages more people to use the outdoor space, thereby defending the community from crime. There is an “implied surveillance” even if people do not frequently use the vegetated space because a well-groomed neighborhood indicates that the residents care about their home and community, signaling that an intruder could be noticed or confronted. In addition, people perceive neighborhoods with blighted streetscapes and unhealthy urban forests as threatening and dangerous. Therefore, healthy urban forests can significantly decrease feelings of fear and consequently reduce incidents of crime and violence.

Improved Community Interaction
According to HERL, a greater number of people use common spacers with trees than those without. People are also more inclined to spend time in common spaces as the number of trees populating those spaces rises, creating increased opportunities for positive community interaction. Furthermore, residents who actively participate in caring for trees and vegetation in outdoor common spaces are more likely to have strong social ties to their neighbors. The more residents socialize with their neighbors, the stronger the sense of community pride and identity. The urban forest provides neighborhoods with a unique and stimulating location for human social interaction.

In a series of large-scale, highly controlled field studies (Kuo and Sullivan 2003), “greener” buildings and spaces were consistently characterized by better performance on a wide range of social ecosystem indicators. Trees and grass cover were linked with greater use of residential outdoor spaces by adults and children, healthier patterns of children’s outdoor activity, more social interaction among adults, healthier patterns of adult-child interaction and supervision, stronger social ties among adult residents, greater sense of safety and adjustment, lower levels of social disorder (such as graffiti), fewer property crimes, and fewer violent crimes. In other words, successful outdoor spaces are pivotal in the healthy social ecology of a community, and trees are a key element in creating effective outdoor spaces.

Next article: The Urban Forest and Health and Safety

Citygreen designs and manufactures innovative structural soil cells which provide un-compacted soil to provide valuable nutrients for trees and other plants, as well as support for pavements and roads. These soil cells are an effective way to promote a healthy urban forest, and ultimately, beneficial psycho-social interaction.

The Citygreen StrataCell will be featured which is designed to highly advanced engineering specifications. StrataCell brings tree-root systems closer to pavement surfaces. Engineers have calculated that, with only 300mm of granular pavement depth, a StrataCell matrix can support maximum traffic loads.